At the time when the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union begins today, the Seimas is holding an extraordinary meeting of the Workers’ Group of the European Economic and Social Committee on Social dialogue and rights: a guarantee for a fair society, attended by 150 representatives of trade unions from 27 EU Member States.

Vydas Gedvilas, Speaker of the Seimas, welcomed the participants, commending the initiative of three Lithuanian trade union confederations to hold this extraordinary meeting.

“It is symbolic that your meeting coincides with an exceptionally important and significant occasion for Lithuania: the beginning of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the EU. Hopefully, the presentations and speeches you will hear will be highly stimulating and insightful, all the more so since the topic of the conference is essentially relevant for both Lithuania and Europe today. I hope that during the meeting you will find common points of interest which in the long term will translate into specific decisions or proposals that, once implemented, will become reality, bringing tangible benefits to citizens in all EU Member States, including Lithuania,” Speaker of  the Seimas said.

The meeting centred on the EU’s social dimension as seen by the European Economic and Social Committee, European Trade Union Confederation and Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, as well as the role of social dialogue and collective bargaining in Europe and Lithuania.

Secretariat of the Speaker of the Seimas, tel. +370 5 239 6002